Novel method for holocellulose analysis of non-woody biomass wastes

Compositional analysis of non-woody biomass is quite important to determine its possible applications. However, current standard methods developed for woody biomass compositional analysis have been revealed to be unsuitable when applied to non-woody biomass. Therefore, a novel and less-time consuming modified method which enables for a proper isolation of holocellulose in non-woody biomass samples while increasing lignin degradation has been developed. The novel method mainly consists in a treatment with sodium chlorite and glacial acetic acid at boiling point, which precludes changes in the holocellulose crystallinity degree or losses of carbohydrates, as shown by DSC, XRPD, and HPLC analysis. It was successfully applied to the determination of the structural components of 10 different non-woody biomass samples. Also, its use revealed that non-woody biomass belongs to LHC and LCH groups in the biomass structural composition ternary diagram, which are completely different than the ones the woody biomass belongs to.